Ice hockey: Streatham lead is cut as Martelly impresses for Milton Keynes Lightning

BY DAVID CARR

Streatham had their lead at the top of NIHL 1 South cut to four points as their weekend off allowed Invicta Dynamos to close the gap to four points.

Dynamos were 5-4 winners over Chelmsford Chieftains and the two pacesetters have each played nine matches.

Despite a lack of action for Streatham, they gave permission for highly-rated 17-year-old defenceman Milique Martelly to ice in the league above with Milton Keynes Lightning.

Martelly, pictured, put in a man of the match performance for the injury-hit Buckinghamshire side as they beat the Raiders 3-1 in MK.

“The play is faster in the National League, but the way everyone plays is the same,” said Martelly.

“It was a good game and I really enjoyed it. I trained with the team on Thursday and everyone was great with me. It was a tight game. The atmosphere at the end was amazing.”

Martelly has already been turning heads on Streatham’s blue line this season and is now likely to enter a two-way agreement between the RedHawks and MK. This would mean he remains a Streatham player but ices with the Lightning when fixtures allow.

Streatham face a double header this weekend, including a Saturday evening trip to Romford followed by a highly-anticipated home clash against Chelmsford Chieftains, the only team to have beaten Michael Farn’s men this season.